I didn’t tell him I would be wearing a wedding dress. I just said that I was going to wear a fancy dress, and I wanted it to be a surprise until we were ready to leave for the party.
“I wanted to make your vision come true, but with my own wedding gown.”
His gaze trails over my body from head to toe and back up.
“Say something.” I shift my weight, feeling a little self-conscious.
And he still doesn’t. Not even when he steps into the room, placing his hands on my cheeks, and kisses me. He deepens the kiss, and a low groan erupts from his chest.
When he ends the kiss, he rests his forehead on mine. “You look like a dream. Like my vision. How the hell did I get so lucky?”
I smile and run my hand down his strong back. “I’m glad you like it.”
He pulls back, holding my hands and pulling them out to the side. “I love it, Ash. But I feel kind of bad because I’m having some really dirty thoughts about what I want to do to you in this dress later tonight.”
I laugh. “I was counting on it.” Wrapping my arms around his neck, I draw him close. “Are you ready to do this?”
“Celebrate the fact that I somehow convinced you to marry me? Hell yes.”
We give each other a quick kiss and make our way down to the front door and out to the truck. Carter drives, and when we reach the hall, we take a moment before getting out of the truck and stepping into the cold.
He takes my hand. “I know I’ve said this before, Ash, but you’re the best thing to ever come into my life. Thank you for giving me another chance, for giving us a chance.”
“Carter, I should be the one thanking you. If you hadn’t taken a leap of faith and asked me to marry you, who knows where we’d be today.”
Carter’s new consulting business is going well. He’s not making what he was at his fancy tech job in Manhattan, but the business has been growing every month. It’s more than enough for us to enjoy a comfortable life in Mistletoe Falls.
“Let’s go have fun.” He hurries around to the other side of the truck and opens the door for me, helping me down onto the pavement. After taking one look at my shoes, he picks me up and carries me toward the doors. “I don’t want you to ruin your shoes or this dress. Maybe our daughter can wear it one day.”
We haven’t talked about having kids yet, but I’ve daydreamed about it more and more. When our eyes meet, I’m pretty sure it’s the same for Carter.
“Let’s do this so we can get home to bed faster.” He kisses me before opening the door and setting me down on my feet.
Carter pulls his phone out to text the DJ and let him know that we’ve arrived, as planned, and a minute later, we’re striding through the doors into the hall to the cheers of all our friends and family. After we’ve made the rounds and said our hellos to everyone, we have our first dance—again. We don’t change our song, dancing to Frank Sinatra, and just like when we were here last year, rather than drinking wine or champagne, Carter and I have spiked eggnog.
“No stripping tonight though, okay?” I smile.
“Not even later, when we’re alone?” He arches an eyebrow.
“Well… of course then.”
He kisses the tip of my nose. I love it when he does that.
I’m tackled in a bear hug from behind by my sister, while Carter and Doug do the man hug thing.
My sister and Doug were married in St. Lucia a couple of months ago, and it was perfect, as we all hoped it would be.
“I still can’t believe you’re my brother-in-law,” Steph says to Carter, giving him a hug.
Doug kisses my cheek.
“Yup, you’re really stuck with me now.” Carter laughs.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Steph says, obviously meaning it.
“Where’s Mom and Dad?” I ask, looking around.
Steph rolls her eyes. “Talking to your parents, Carter, about all the reasons they should move to Florida once they retire.”
